COVID-19 vaccine perceptions online and offline: A content analysis of tweets and a survey of college students’ opinions about the vaccine

This study examined social media conversations and people's attitudes and perceptions in the United States about the COVID-19 vaccine from January and February 2021. A total of 1,050 tweets were content analyzed (N = 1,050) (January 2021: n = 550, February 2021: n = 500). Research was also gathered from college students at a medium-sized college in the northeast during those two months using an online survey with a sample size of 171 (N = 171).

It was found that more tweets in January had negative sentiment than in February, whereas tweets in February had more positive sentiment than in January. Although half of the tweets did not address vaccine risk, the other half identified various risks. Tweets in January included more blaming of government and individuals than tweets in February. Regarding hazard and outrage, more tweets in January expressed low hazard and high outrage than tweets in February, though more tweets in February showed low hazard and low outrage than those in January. Finally, tweets in January contained more liberal and conservative frames than tweets in February.

The survey data show that people held positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Participants’ risk perception about the vaccine was low. They also rated the vaccine as highly effective. Participants noted COVID-19 being a high threat. People's concern with COVID-19 was moderately high. They also took highly active behavior to protect themselves from COVID-19. Participants showed relatively low levels of outrage toward COVID-19 vaccines. The majority of participants had family members and friends who received the vaccine. Survey participants with family members who had been infected with COVID-19 had more belief in the effectiveness of the vaccine than people whose family members had not been infected.

These findings can be invaluable to public health officials in better understanding perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and risk.